Two Dragons
by the Prince's Jewel
Summary: Shounen-ai fluff. (Well, the first chappie's fluffy... and then it gets angsty...)
1. Default Chapter

I'm sorry, I'm sorry… but they were just too cuuuute! Kawaii, if you will. Absolutely adorable? Okay, so I thought the idea of Shiryu and Black Dragon together was good. (Bad, but good…) It was the hair, honest! Any guy with hair that long… and there were 2 of them… J Anyhow, they seemed to like each other… (Oh, and not all words will be correct, because baby looney tunes is in the background, not kotz. (by the way, not knowing the black dragon's name, and considering that he's a dark double, I'm going to call him Iryu. Scream at me, or tell me if he's got a name. I've got limited eps. to go by.))… so onto the "edited" version… - *snickers*

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_He's going to beat me with one finger. How embarrassing._ Shiryu looked at Black Dragon, poised to wipe him out. _No… There has to be something… it's not fair his hair's prettier than mine!_ Weak though he was, Shiryu reached out, managing to catch a lock of his dark double's locks, his other hand covering the 'deadly' finger. He swayed, let himself fall forward. Black Dragon, caught off-guard and more than a little confused, caught him.

"Are you still fighting, Shiryu? Are they really worth your life, your friends?" Puzzled, black on blue eyes stared down at him. "You are willing to risk everything for them?"

"Yes." He braced himself against the other's body, reaching one hand behind his neck. "I will risk everything for them. They'd do the same for me."

"Would they?" Iryu willingly let himself be pulled down into the kiss Shiryu gave him. "Then…" He thrust his finger into Shiryu's chest. Shiryu's eyes widened as his energy was restored.

"Why? Why would you give me your own energy?" Shiryu caught his double as he fell, weak from the transfer, pale purple streaming down his face.

"If your friends are worth your life, they are worth mine," Iryu gasped. "Go to them, Shiryu. They need you. I just… need to rest." His head lolled slightly.

"No! You have to focus your power! Focus, Dragon!" Shiryu cried, shaking his fallen … not-exactly-an enemy. The strange eyes opened, peering up at him.

"None of the other Dark Knights would stay with me like this. But you have to go Shiryu. Your friends… they need you." As if to emphasize that, Shiryu heard Shun calling out to him. "Go…"

Torn, Shiryu looked toward the edge of the cliff. He'd risked his life for those two, and so had Black Dragon. He pulled the other knight into an embrace, kissing him again. "Thank you." Then he raced for the chain. "I'm here, guys. I'm a little tired, but I'll do my best."

He grabbed the chain, beginning to pull as Shun called up, "You're tired? I'm carrying Seiya!" Several other calls of encouragement from Shun helped Shiryu get them pulled up. Recognizing Seiya's 'wicked tan' as a spell, Shiryu set about abolishing it - successfully.

He went back to his fallen cloth (A/N: they call it that why?), resettling it where it belonged, and dropped by Black Dragon again. His double was barely conscious, weakened enough he couldn't speak. "I have to go find Ikki. You don't have to fight for him, remember that. You could fight with us, instead."

Shiryu ran his fingers through the other's thick, blue-black hair, carefully arranging it so that it laid over his double's body instead of splaying across the ground behind him. "That should help keep you warm. I wish I could do more, but I have to go. We have to defeat Ikki." He stood, staring down. "I'll see you again, Black Dragon!"

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I said edited. I didn't say well edited…. Eh,. I'll post it anyhow. *recalls the rest of that episode…* No, I am not going to write a Ikki/Shun story. Do that yourself.


	2. Unexpected visitor

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YaoiYaoiYeah: I never said I didn't like to write Ikki/Shun, I said I wasn't gonna. I may, eventually, reconsider that. I doubt it, since the only incest type thing I've ever written involved Raditz and Kakarot, and I think I would prefer that pairing. Hyoga/Shun? Hmm…. *goes off to contemplate that*

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Blade-Chan: Yeah, incest does tend to squick me. Except for the above mentioned couple, but they're Saiyan, not human. J Ohhh… Ryou and Bakura… *drools* I LIKE that couple. Ahem. Excuse me. Must get head out of that anime.

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Musouka: Ah! Holy robes for the saints. Thank you that makes so much more sense now! HE DIED???? THAT'S NOT ALLOWED. This fic just officially went AU. *scowls* Killing off the gorgeous bishounen, especially the bad boys with the golden hearts, isn't allowed. Torture them all you want, but DON'T KILL THEM. Yes it was a bit short, I really hadn't seen a whole lot of the show, and that particular episode just kinda hopped out and said "Hello! Use me!" and so I did. I still don't think I'm quite following what's going on, which is another reason it's going to be AU from here on out. But… since you have seen the original, did Hyoga's master die or not? The lovely screamed "no" so horribly, and then they had Seiya yammering like he just needed a long nap to recover completely. And, although I'm fairly certain Ikki died, I'm not sure if it's only the Phoenix cloth that revives, or the knight as well?

Now, I know I got a few more reviews than this, at least one other that asked me to pretty please continue. And since I happen to like these beautiful ones, I think I will. As per my usual, though, lemons will be few and far between, and highly glossed over. At least, any posted here… *contemplates the fic she's considering getting an adultfiction account for* But, the reason the rest of you didn't get a shout out is because I only had these downloaded… and I've lost my internet connection until I catch my phone bill up. Me and the phone company hate each other. *pause* Okay, I hate the phone company, and to them, I'm just a number that owes another number.

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He ran the brush through green-black locks, remembering how he had combed his fingers through blue-black. Remembered the feel of the firm body against his own, the touch of the lips. The other's body a perfect match for his own. He sighed, laying the brush on the dresser, leaning forward to examine his eyes.

Perfectly ordinary, they were, not like the exotic black on blue of his dark double. He'd said he'd see the other again, had even gone back after the fight with that gargantuan from Greece. But, Black Dragon hadn't been there. And the falling snow had covered his tracks. He searched, but hadn't been able to find his weakened double. Over a year had passed, and while he still hoped the other would come to him, he was doubting it would happen. Beginning to wonder why he still felt such things for a man he'd met exactly once, and fought nearly to the death.

And with the way Shun sometimes regarded him, Shiryu was wondering if his attraction for the man wasn't a waste of time. Perhaps it was time to find out what those looks meant. He was… lonely.

He swayed unsteadily, not sure where he was, or why he was going there. Gates barred the road, he realized dimly that it was a driveway now, he turned, walking along the sidewalk until his legs finally gave out. He collapsed against the wall, a stone fence, ashamed of himself for displaying the weakness, wondering why he was ashamed of seeming weak.

He was hungry, he thought. But he wasn't really sure, his stomach had stopped reminding him it was empty some time ago. A few days, at least. He was fairly certain he hadn't eaten for at least a week, but how had he managed to travel as far as he had if he hadn't eaten. He had traveled a long way, hadn't he? He moaned softly, pressing his hand to his forehead, curling himself against the wall.

His hair was all he had to keep warm with, but the filthy, tangled mass was hard to separate and pull around his thin frame. Had he always been so thin? So frail and weak? Surely he hadn't always been so filthy, had he? He'd be cleaner if he washed in the water in the gutter. Except the water had frozen again. He was tired of being cold. Yes. That much he really was sure of. He whimpered a little when the wind cut through the rags that remained of his clothes, desperately trying to untangle the knots in his hair with his fingers.

Why was he here? His fingers paused in their work while his mind tried muzzily to understand what the question meant. That problem dealt with, he tried piecing together what was left of his memory to answer the question. But the chill wind drove him to other matters, his fingers moving against the tangles again as he tried to get his hair separated enough to pull around him. Hadn't he done that once before? More than once?

He couldn't remember, and his fingers were too numb to comply with the demands he gave them. He struggled back to his feet, grabbing the stonework of the fence to hold himself erect, to support him as he forced his feet to move. He came back to the gate. Why was he back at the gate? Was he supposed to go to the house? He pushed ineffectually on the gate, his slight form crumpling to the ground when his attempts to open it failed. What strength he'd had was gone.

_What kind of prank is this?_ Shiryu gazed in disgust at the filthy creature lying in the middle of his bed. _Who decided to put _that _in my bed???!_ He approached slowly, his nose flaring slightly as he realized he could _smell_ the stench from across the room. He'd have to wash all the bedclothes, now, and he'd just done that this morning! Incensed, the now furious male strode to the edge of the bed - and got a good look at its occupant.

The rags he wore were barely enough to keep him decent, certainly not enough to keep out the cold of winter. He wore no shoes at all. Snarled, matted hair shielded his face, which was undoubtedly as filthy as the rest of the easily visible, wind-chapped and bruised skin. Shiryu eyed the bruises, they stood out sharply against otherwise white pallor. And now that he was close enough, he realized how horribly thin the… boy?… was. Teenaged, probably, or very early twenties, starved and beaten. (A/N: Shiryu is hereby declared to be 20. So's Iryu.) 

Shiryu discovered his anger had left, replaced by pity for the other. "How did you get in my bed?" he asked quietly, not expecting any answer from the limp form so soundly asleep. Yet, the pitiful body stirred at his voice, the wiry muscles tensing as the other snapped from sleep to full wakefulness and tried to block and escape a blow that never came. He crashed to the floor.

"Shh, I won't hurt you," Shiryu reassured the other, going to the other side of the bed and lifting the huddled, crumpled form back onto the bed. "How did you get here? Who are you?"

Only silence answered him, he realized the man had passed out. Sighing a bit regretfully, Shiryu entered the bathroom, deciding if the man was staying, he would be getting cleaned up.

Water. All around him. Warmth. How long since he had been warm? Had he found… found what… what… what it was that he was finding? What was he finding? Was he finding something? He must be, he remembered searching. He'd been searching hadn't he? For… what?

Something touching him. He whimpered, trying to draw away, associating touch with pain. He knew touch hurt, didn't he always hurt when he was touched? He was sure it hadn't always been that way, just since… but he was being touched, and he had to get away before he was hurt.

He couldn't. A strong arm was wrapped around his shoulders, holding him in place. His whimpers grew more fearful when he realized his pitiful rags were gone, and that whoever held him was touching him everywhere. A soft voice spoke to him, his mind was too frantic to understand the words of reassurance. His fingers scrabbled at the roving hand, trying to push it away. He couldn't talk, only whimper and cry as the man - he knew it was a man - kept touching, ignoring his attempts to get away, continued to make those soothing sounds he couldn't believe. He'd heard such sounds before, and all they meant was he would be hurt.

He cried broken, nearly silent sobs. He would have screamed, but he wasn't able to scream. Not anymore. He knew that, knew it the way he knew he couldn't talk above a hoarse whisper that hurt him to use. He knew he would try, that his throat would bleed again when he did. He felt himself lifted, let it happen, knowing he was too weak to resist anything that would happen to him.

Maybe this time, he would die.

Shiryu wrapped a towel around the sobbing man. His teeth were gritted, his eyes narrowed. He'd caught only a glimpse of those black on blue eyes, but coupled with the blue-black of the hair he'd finally gotten clean, he had no doubts about who his mystery visitor was.

What had happened to Dark Dragon?

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Miserable place to stop, ne? But, I'm tired, and I'm angst-ed out at the moment. Iryu's had a hard time of it since Shiryu last saw him, and now Shiryu must help him get all better. Unfortunately, he's got a lot to help his dark double overcome, and I can't deal with it right now!

Besides, after I get some sleep, I have got to get that bloody het fic updated.


	3. Should I leave?

*grins* It seems some of you like my little a/u. Poor Iryu… you just gotta feel sorry for the guy. He's been mostly dead most of the time Shiryu's seen him! *curls up happily in her nest of bishounen* But, I happen to like him, so I think I'll let him heal up some… maybe even get some of his memory back. Poor baby… I wonder what it is he does know?

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Soft comfort, warmth. Lids bruised from lack of sleep and good nutrition opened slowly, black on blue eyes darting frantically from side to side. Colored blurs, something dark coming toward him. He cowered into the bed, hearing but not understanding the words spoken to him. Nor did he understand the wave of sudden comfort when the dark shape finally took focus above him, a man with green-black hair and gentle eyes. His own eyes drifted shut again, feeling safe for the first time in forever.

Shiryu drew back, puzzled. His unexpected guest had been nothing if not terrified. Then, his eyes had bloomed with sudden trust before closing. What could have happened to the man? They had been almost equally matched - so what could have happened to reduce Black Dragon to the pathetic, mewling creature he'd become?

Shiryu drew back the blankets gently, checking the bandages he'd applied. Beneath the grime he'd cleaned away had been blood covering wounds that hadn't, or couldn't, heal. Two had needed stitched up. His feet had been a mass of blisters, blood, and frozen skin, it was a miracle that he'd been able to walk at all. His hands hadn't been in much better shape.

"Shiryu, how is he?" Hyoga's voice cut through his musings. He replaced the bandages that needed it before turning to the blond.

"He's… no better, but no worse," Shiryu replied. "I am not sure what could have happened to bring a knight such as he to this state."

"Knight?" Hyoga replied, startled, moving closer to examine the man burrowed deeply into the pillows, thick down comforter now pulled back up to his chin. "He's a knight?"

"Do you not recognize him, Hyoga? This is Dark Dragon, my double."

"I thought he died!" Hyoga yelped, his gaze suddenly more piercing. "I can… the hair, yeah. But… are you sure?"

"We are." Shun appeared suddenly, sitting on the edge of the bed to smile at Hyoga. "Shiryu would know best, but even I recognized him. It's his eyes, they're so… odd. Black on blue. And his hair… you combine the two and he can't be anyone else."

"Ah." Hyoga regarded the green-haired boy for a moment. "So… you gonna be helping to nurse him?"

Shun blinked, leaning back across the large bed and stretching. He groaned a bit, then nearly purred when a sharp 'snick' was heard. "Yeah," he replied, sitting back up, "I'll be helping. Of course! What are you staring at?"

Hyoga grinned. "You're an exhibitionist, Shun."

"Pth. Am not! Exhibitionism is what you do around my brother! I just needed to stretch. I've been going through all those books with Seiya."

"Gah! Don't remind me…" Hyoga groaned. "He's been at me to help him with those."

"Well, you should. Besides, he's got Ikki in there now…" Shun started laughing, Hyoga already gone. "He's really got it bad for my brother."

"The feeling is mutual, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah. Ikki thinks he's hot." Shun grinned, "He says he really enjoys watching the tough guy prepare his diamond dust because his poses make him look so delectable. Not that I told you that, of course," he added to the doubled over dragon knight. "Shiryu?"

The other's suddenly diffident tone sobered Shiryu. "What is it, Shun?"

Shun laid back across the bed, again carefully avoiding the injured dark knight. "It's… well…" He sighed. "Do you still want me, Shiryu? Now that he's here? I mean, you spent over a year just waiting for him… and now two months after we get together, he shows up. Do… should I leave you?"

"No!" Shiryu dropped to his lover's side. "No, Shun. I want you to stay with me."

Uncertainty, pain. Something wrong. Something wrong. Something holding him down. He whimpered, no longer feeling safe, his bandaged hands batting feebly at the weight over him. Movement to the side, frantic eyes took in shades of green. The whimpering grew louder, his efforts to escape more determined. Pain, erupting from his wounds, spreading throughout his body. He slumped, defeated, his whimpering silenced momentarily, tears running unchecked down his face.

The dark green moved closer, he recognized the man from earlier, but the feeling of safety was gone. He recoiled as much as he could, shrinking into the pillows, terror etched across his face. The voice was soothing, but he didn't believe anymore, his whimpers beginning again when the man touched him, barely understandable as words.

The bright green retreated, came back, holding something he gave to the other man. A strong arm slipped behind his shoulders, lifted him. A cup touched his lips, he finally recognized a word. "… drink? …" He wasn't sure what the rest was, wasn't sure the cup was safe, but it was being tipped, and he found himself drinking, suddenly realizing that he was thirsty, his hands reaching to keep the cup at his mouth, draining the last drop, not caring for anything but satisfying the dryness. And then the cup was empty, and he was at their mercy… and the mercy was real. He relaxed somewhat with that realization, not feeling safe, but no longer feeling threatened.

Shiryu lowered him back to the pillows, sliding from the bed with a frown. "Shun, could you make out what he was saying?"

"Not really," Shun replied, smiling gently at their visitor. "Should I go get something for him to eat?"

"Broth. I don't think he's up to eating." Shiryu spread the blanket over his guest carefully. "I don't think he's eaten for awhile."

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WAHHHH! Dad cancelled the cable. I've lost my Cartoon Network! No more Knights, no more DBZ, no nothing! I am so woe! As if losing my phone line wasn't bad enough! *growls* Okay, anyone doing a good fire&ice fic? And yeah, that'd be Ikki/Hyoga.


	4. A little recall

He felt stronger. Strong enough to continue looking for… the thing he was searching for. His brow furrowed. What was it? What was so important that he had to find it? He sat slowly, wincing as his feet touched the plush carpet. He tried to stand, couldn't, and settled for a limping crawl. He had to find it. It did not matter that he might be hurt.

Shun found him where he'd collapsed barely five feet from the bed, too weak to get any further. "Oh no! What happened? Are you alright?" He darted across the room, carefully lifting Iryu and putting him back to bed. He quickly inspected the injured knight. "Well, it doesn't look like you've hurt yourself any worse."

Pain-glazed eyes looked through Shun as he twitched, still trying to get to what it was he had to find. Shun's voice had no meaning for him, but the cup that was soon held to his lips did. Iryu drained it, then recoiled in sudden terror when Shun settled to the bed beside him.

"Relax, Black Dragon. I'm not going to hurt you. I just thought since you were awake, I could get your hair brushed for you." Shun held out the brush, his pleasant expression fading to sadness when the other took one look at it and cowered even more. "Someone's beaten you pretty bad, haven't they? Don't you worry, no one here's going to hurt you. We'll all help you get better."

He twisted his eyes tightly shut, cowering and trembling, trying to scootch further under the blankets. He was stopped, held. Helpless tears flowed down his cheeks, his head dropping submissively, his body tensing against anticipated pain. It didn't come. His hair was tugged, and there was some discomfort, but no pain.

The brush was laid beside him; he regarded it warily. His hair was tugged, not hard, and soon draped over his shoulder. He blinked at the dark braid in bewilderment. Shun babbled at him, but he couldn't make out the words. Was he… not going to be beaten this time? He'd tried to run away… yes. He'd tried to leave, to find… something. He hadn't been planning on coming back. Why wasn't he being hurt for his disobedience?

Another cup. This one was the warm, filling drink. He drank eagerly, both hands curled as much as possible around the cup. As he usually did, he tipped it up, getting every last tiny drop out. A second cup was offered, it he regarded warily. He'd been given only two drinks, water and the warm liquid. What was this? He sniffed, then snatched at the cup. It was more of the warm drink, and soon gone.

"I thought you were wanting more," Shun said with some satisfaction, watching as another cup of broth vanished. "You've been improving, you know. You're a lot better than when we first found you."

Blue on black eyes regarded bright green hair, unwilling to focus elsewhere. He wasn't sure what the man said, but he sounded satisfied. He'd done something right, that was the only time he ever heard that particular tone. The man was still talking, he shifted his attention slightly, watching the man's mouth. "… name?"

Name? He frowned. Name. He knew that word. He'd heard it before. "Iryu," he rasped in his nearly silent whisper. Iryu. What was that? Familiar. Yes. It was… name. Iryu was his name. His dark eyes lit slightly with the joy of knowing something.

"Iryu?" Shun giggled. "I guess that makes sense, since you're Shiryu's dark double. I wonder what… the other double's name were?"

Again the rasping whisper. "Cyn. Ranome."

"Cyn? Ranome?" Shun blinked. "You understand me?"

"You…. Ranome?" Iryu blinked. With his name had come the memory of a man as pretty as this one and of the blond he'd seen earlier, only darker, like shadows. But all of his memories were shadows. Some just hurt more than others, and many were so ingrained they were practically instinct. He moved carefully, minding his hurts, to lay his head on Shun's lap. "Ranome… help."

"Oh…" Shun's eyes widened. "I'll help you," he promised.

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There we go. A bit of quasi-sweetness. And in case you wanna know, Cyn is zeen, 'zine, whatever. Rhymes with magazine. Ranome, pronounce ran-oh-may. I am still in the process of coming up with a name for Dark Pegasus. My first plan was to chop off the first few letters of their names like I did with Iryu, but… I'm sorry, but dark knights named Yoga, Hun, and Eiya? *is still singing Old McDonald had a farm, eieio…* So for Cyn, I mangled some French. Ranome is just letters yanked from Andromeda.

Pegasus/Seiya. What the devil am I to do with him, call him Peg? *shudders* Or almost as bad… Gus. Nonono… I am more creative than that. *sits back to sulk* Hmph. I'm going to bed. *stalks angrily off to wonder why her usually vivid imagination goes *pht* when Seiya's involved…*


	5. Ranome

"Sugase! No!" He sat up, hands outstretched, warding off… something. He trembled, shaking uncontrollably, wrapping his arms around a frame too slender and frail to be his own - but it was. Someone moved toward him in the dark, he scrambled away, the dream too fresh for him to care that he ripped open wounds that had barely begun to heal. Light flared, blinding him. He recognized the shape as he fell from the bed. "Ranome? Please…"

Shun hurried to the other side of the bed, kneeling next to the other. "Shh, there. It's all right, I'm here. Let's get you back up on the bed, there we go, easy, yes. There. You're bleeding again, Iryu. Don't move, I'll go get some fresh bandages."

The voice was comforting, and the brush of the hand across his brow before the other moved away. Even so, Iryu could tell that something wasn't right. Ranome… he'd been closer to Ranome than any of the others… but there was something… they had been… he had been… Ranome was dead.

The realization tore through him, provided him with the identity of the one he'd thought to be Ranome. Andromeda, the Bronze Knight. Ranome was dead, had died the day that… that…. His mind tore away again, refusing to view those memories, refusing to acknowledge them. His recent revelation went with it, but the hint of unease remained when the pretty man returned.

"Here we go. I'll have to get you cleaned up without Shiryu's help after all; he's gone to help Seiya." Gentle hands removed the bandages, ran lightly over his skin. He trembled in terror, knowing that pain would follow. At the end, even Ranome…. His mind shied away again. "There you are. Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

Terror-filled eyes lifted, to see only concern instead of the hatred and scorn he'd somehow expected. Bright green hair swayed slightly as the man moved, getting up off the bed. "I'll bring you some water, anyway. I heard you screaming, your throat probably hurts. I'll just be a minute." The pretty one moved away, through the door he'd learned lead to the bathroom. A moment or two later he returned with a cup of water, and settled back beside him.

Iryu tensed, gasping a little when it hurt, a soft keening beginning when the man slipped an arm around him and supported him. "Iryu? What's wrong? It's just water." The cup was lifted to his mouth, tipped. He let the water dribble down his chin, the other pulled the glass away. "I guess you aren't thirsty yet. I'll leave this on the nightstand, then."

He watched as Ranome… not Ranome… Ranome? crossed the room. "You are safe here, Iryu. We'll protect you." Then the lights went out. He huddled into the blankets, burying his head beneath the pillows, curling himself as tightly as his pain would allow. He let the tears flow, the memory of the other's face suddenly in his mind, the blood, the blank eyes.

"Ranome…"

"Shiryu? Do you have any idea who Sugase could be?"

"Sugase? No. Why?"

"Your double woke up from a nightmare, screaming that name. He thought I was Ranome again - I think that's the only reason I managed to get close enough to him to help him. But then he was so scared, he was just shaking and crying…. Do you think we should…" Shun hesitated, uncertain. "Maybe a hospital could take care of him better."

"No, Shun. He stays with us." Shiryu coiled a lock of Shun's hair around his finger. "He needs our protection. You have felt that need, as have I. He needs protection. From what, I cannot tell. We cannot provide that protection for him if he is not with us."

"I know. But… well… he's hurt so badly. What if he has other injuries? Internal ones? Maybe that's why he isn't healing."

Shiryu was quiet for a time, petting Shun. "Perhaps you're right. The Foundation hospital, then. I… think the closer he is to us, the better."

"I'm not jealous, you know," Shun said suddenly, turning to look up at his lover. "I'm not trying to make you send him away. I'm just worried about him. He isn't healing."

"I know."

Something had changed. He wasn't exactly sure what it was… no! He was being moved! His eyes opened, limbs thrashing wildly as he tried to escape the white-coated men. He screamed, terrified, as the men strapped him to a gurney, screaming for the one who always came to help him. His screams stopped abruptly, an already pale face becoming even paler when he remembered.

He laid on the cot, unresisting now, knowing there was no one to come and help him, and no way he could escape. He was in too much pain, could feel the blood pooling. The white-coats cursed, swiftly re-bandaging the wounds, wheeling him away. He closed his eyes. Too much of his strength was gone. He would not be able to escape again, would never find what he'd lost.

Iryu didn't try and fight when they injected him, or when they removed the few bits of clothing that he'd been given. He made no protest when they touched him. He laid quietly with his eyes closed, drifting into that place where he could sense nothing. Perhaps, this time, he would stay there.

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Sugase: Sue-gah-say. Yep. That's Dark Pegasus. I gave him a name! He's the star of Iryu's nightmares, which since he's supposed to be dead, leads to a question or two. And what was it even Ranome, whom he apparently trusted, did? I'm at my page length, or I might actually answer those questions now! Ah well, at least the poor kid's gonna get some professional treatment. That's good… right?


	6. I remember now

Cold white walls broken only by a tiny window. The view beyond was more white, snow covering what little was visible. White sheets on the bed, a white curtain to go around it. White bandages on his wounds. The white was broken only by the glint of chrome on the bedrails, and the tiny patch of blue sky seen through the windows.

He concentrated on his hair, the only thing in the room that didn't seem to belong. Blue-black, like the bruises covering the otherwise pale body hidden beneath the white sheets. Long enough to touch his upper thighs, now that it had been cleaned and brushed. Braided, it didn't seem quite as long.

The doctors were going to cut it. He'd heard one say so, because it would interfere with the readings of a machine they planned to use on him.

The window was small, and he was weak.

Bandaged fingers stroked down the braided mass. Blue on black eyes estimated the distance to the window again.

"He did WHAT?!" Shun exclaimed in dismay. "Need… yes of course. I was on my way over anyway."

He dropped the phone in its cradle and turned to face Shiryu. "Iryu climbed out his window. He's in bad shape."

"Let's go."

The two arrived at the hospital some twenty minutes later. Shun checked at the desk to be sure Iryu still had the same room before the knights continued on.

"Iryu?" Shun stopped short in dismay. The dark knight was restrained, wrists fastened to the bed. He realized a moment later that Iryu's ankles were also restrained, and that a strap was fastened over his waist. Shiryu didn't stop. He went straight over and unfastened the wrist restraints. Shun followed, stunned at the difference in the man. "I… Iryu?"

Iryu didn't answer. Stiffly, his body aching, he moved. He'd been restrained before, knew what came next. He drew himself up as much as he was able, not bothering to hide his fear. Or his shame. And waited for the others to punish him.

"Iryu?" Shun said again, reaching out to touch the other's hand gently. "It's us. Shun and Shiryu. We… we aren't going to hurt you."

Shiryu left his gentle lover to bringing his double out of his nightmare. He walked out the door, intent on reaming the doctor in charge of Iryu's case, and arranging for the other to be taken back home.

Iryu flinched away from the touch, unable to help himself. A soft whimpering left his throat, sore after the screaming he'd done when he was being tied down. Helpless as he'd felt, he fought them. They were back now, back to punish him. The gentle cajoling was familiar… he knew this routine too.

Ranome would calm him. His friend, once his lover. Ranome would calm him, in spite of everything. In spite of him knowing that the moment he was calm, Sugase would come in with the others. He'd calm, because Ranome knew how to make him feel safe. "Why…?"

"Why what, Iryu?" Encouraged by the response, Shun settled carefully on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Betrayed me…" Yet he was already less fearful. Ranome had always had that effect on him.

"No! Oh, Iryu! We thought the hospital would help. You weren't healing, I thought maybe you had internal injuries we couldn't see. This is my fault…"

That wasn't what was supposed to happen. Iryu turned to face the other, peering dimly at the bright green. "…'romeda" he whispered at last.

"Yes, I'm Andromeda. My name is Shun."

An easy name. Bright, bright green. Not right. But Andromeda. That meant… that meant… "Dragon?"

"Shiryu? He's…" Shun turned, realized his lover was gone. "He's gone to make arrangements to take you back home with us, where no one will tie you up."

"No… punish…ment?"

"For what?" Shun reached out, slowly, to pick up the other's hand. He examined Iryu's wrists. "For trying to escape? Of course not. Nobody explained what was happening, you were sleeping when we decided it would be better to have you checked over properly."

Iryu tried to pull away, but gentle as he was, the bright green - Shun - did not release his grip. Then the words penetrated. "Checked?"

Shun put his hand down, patted it gently. "You haven't been healing," he repeated patiently. "I thought maybe you had internal injuries that needed care. I guess I was wrong. You just… you don't feel safe, do you?"

"Ranome? Where's Ranome?" Iryu pressed a hand to his head, whimpering when it hurt. He'd cut himself on the window glass.

"I don't know," Shun answered quietly. "You thought I was him."

"Ranome? He always comes… I was wrong…"

"Iryu?"

"Was supposed to… kill him. Punished me… for helping." Iryu began coughing, a harsh hacking that tore at his damaged throat.

"Here! Easy! Easy, there. Easy." Shun cradled the fallen knight. "I've got you. Here's water. Drink some, Iryu."

He drank, the swallowing hurting, the water helping. He trembled in the gentle embrace, no longer remembering what it was like to be held without the threat of pain to come. He let Shun's voice wash over him, a constant melody of soothing sounds, gradually coming to realize that this man wouldn't hurt him. Understanding that he wasn't like Ranome, and wouldn't turn on him.

Bandaged hands crept uncertainly around Shun's waist as Iryu burrowed closer to him. He let his tears fall, shivering under the gentle caresses of the bronze knight, soaking in the soothing words. He cried, too weak in every way to fight the pain anymore, the heartbreak, the still heavy sense of betrayal. He cried, remembering his past, and how he came to be the wretched creature he was.

Tears still streamed from his eyes when Shun placed him carefully back against the pillows when Dragon appeared. His double. He was limp with exhaustion, but still he tried to reach out.

Shiryu caught the faint movement, crossing quickly to the other. "Iryu. Don't worry. I'm taking you back home with me. Princess Sienna will have a room ready for you. And you'll have a private doctor, not that… thing that tied you down."

He did get his own room. Smaller than the one he'd woken in the first time, and shaded in muted blues. He had stopped fighting against them, forcing his wounds to reopen. They healed.

He wasn't sure he would. Most of his memory had finally returned. He'd chosen to help a man he was supposed to kill. Sugase had known, somehow, that he hadn't been beaten, like the others, but that he'd sacrificed his energy so that Dragon could help his friends. Sugase had been the one to find him, lying helpless in the snow.

The others had had various wounds, but had lived - even Cyn, whom he thought he'd seen die. Sugase had never allowed him to forget that he should have finished Dragon - he'd been winning - and taken care of Pegasus and Andromeda. He remembered the sneering tone. "All you had to do was break the chain before you went back to beating on your double, but you wouldn't do that, would you? No… you left them because you had to talk with him! You had to let his words and his touch and his kisses sway you! You betrayed us, Iryu!"

The edge of the cliff hadn't been far behind him. Sugase had pushed him over, but Ranome's chains had saved him that time. He curled in the chair, looking out the window. Ranome had pulled him back up, sick, dizzy, and nearly unconscious, for the brief love they'd shared. A love he had known was dead, never to get the chance to grow, when he finally roused enough to see the disgust on the other's face, to recognize the distain in the way he was held. In that moment, he'd wished Ranome hadn't caught him.

Ranome had been the one to nurse him until Sugase decided what to do with him. Had been the only one who hadn't participated. He'd tried to escape, thinking to find his double and join him as he'd suggested. But, he'd still been weak from the day on the cliff, and wounded from the rapes. He hadn't gotten far.

Sugase had caught up with him. He'd managed to defend himself fairly well, but not as well as if he'd been strong. Sugase's blows had felled him. He'd been well worked over by the time the others had arrived, and by the time he'd been strapped to the bed, he'd had several broken bones and a severe concussion.

He'd been occasionally fed and frequently raped, beaten daily. He'd tried to escape again as soon as his bones healed enough, knowing somewhere else was better than here. He hadn't made it out the door. There, his memory became more fragmented. He remembered pain, lots of it, and screaming. He didn't really know what they'd done to him, only that it had hurt worse than anything else they'd done.

He'd gotten away again because they hadn't tied him back up. He could still move, and he had. He'd found a place, small and dark, and stayed curled up in it until his head didn't hurt as much. Sugase had been waiting for him when he'd crawled out.

It had become a pattern. He'd escape, Sugase would catch him and tie him down. Ranome would tend to his wounds, calm him down. Then the others would come and the pain would start over again. As time passed, Ranome had seemed to dislike his part more and more. Iryu remembered hearing raised voices, hearing Ranome protesting.

The next time he'd escaped, Ranome had been the only one to rape him.

Iryu stared out the window, at the fresh green grass and the myriad of flowers, and hugged himself tighter. Violent tremors wracked his thin frame. From then on, Ranome had participated as well. The last time, it had been only Ranome and Sugase, and when Ranome had finished with him, Sugase had come up behind Ranome, snapped his neck. Iryu had screamed. Sugase had released Ranome to fall limply forward over him. "He said you'd been punished enough." Then he'd left.

"I brought your lunch!" a cheery voice announced, shocking him out of the memories.

Iryu's head whipped toward the door. His eyes widened in absolute terror. "No!"

"It's okay, Iryu. I've just got your lunch. Shun's bringing your drink." Seiya stepped inside, set the tray on the small table. Shun followed him in with a tea tray. "There you go! I'll see you later."

Shun stepped aside for him, deposited his tray on the table as well. "It's not soup today!" He looked up, his cheerful smile fading instantly to concern. "Iryu? Iryu?"

Shun hurried to the huddled, trembling figure trying to disappear into the chair. "Hush, honey, it's okay. What's happened? Are you hurt? Or did Seiya just scare you? He's got a bad habit of not knocking."

"Seiya?" Iryu drew a shuddering breath. "The Pegasus knight?"

"Yes."

"Sugase… looks like him."

"OH!" Sudden understanding dawned. Sugase had been the cause of more than one interrupted night's sleep for Shun. "Okay, I'll tell him he's got a bad resemblance to your nightmares, and not to just pop in."

"They aren't nightmares. Sugase… ordered this. Because I didn't kill when I should have, and let the three of you live."

"Suga… you mean… the other dark knights did this to you?!"

"Yes. I remember now." Once he admitted that, he couldn't stop. He told Shun the entire story, as well as he could remember it. Partway through, Shun wrapped him in his arms, openly crying for what the other had been through. Iryu was petted and stroked, caressed and cosseted. "I left… to find Dragon. To take him up on his offer."

"His offer?"

"To join him… to fight Phoenix."

"That fight was over long ago, Iryu. My brother came back to us."

"Came… back?"

"Phoenix is my brother, Ikki, a bronze knight. Didn't you know?"

"He was… dark. Like we were."

"Ikki is a bronze knight. He's here. Would it help if you saw him?"

"Does… he know… about me?"

"He knows you're here, and that Shiryu and I are taking care of you."

Iryu looked out at the flowers again. "I would… see him."

"Okay. He's down in the library. I'll be back in a bit. You try and eat your lunch for me, okay?"

Iryu nodded, feeling bereft when the other released him to leave. He almost reached out again, but reminded himself sharply that the pretty Shun was not Ranome… and that Ranome had not been his long. Not even a full week… over so swiftly because of his interest in his bright double.

He ate the sandwich left for him slowly. Why had he been so interested in Dragon? Was it merely because the other was a brighter reflection of himself? Was it because the other had held to his honor and his loyalty even in the face of defeat? He had felt comfortable with the other, even when taking advantage of his weakness - a weakness belied by the strength of his character.

Iryu had allowed himself to relive their kisses, brief and fleeting as they had been, as a contrast to the pain, as proof that someone cared. He'd lost the memory of who had given him those kisses, knowing only that it wasn't anyone who was with him, someone who had promised a way out. He'd dreamed of escaping and finding that person, of being with him.

And now he'd found him. Now, he had that chance. A glimmer of hope lit in his strange eyes, a faint smile coming to his face. He would recover first. He would not approach Shiryu in this condition. He saw the other rarely, and he thought it was because he was so different, so much weaker, than he had been.

"Iryu?" Shun called, "I've got Ikki."

"Come in." Ikki stepped in, followed by his slender brother. "Phoenix?"

It wasn't the same man. This one, he was bright, like Shun and Shiryu. He looked just like Phoenix, but his aura was wrong. Iryu backed away a step, shaking his head. One hand raised to his eyes, dropped when Ikki's voice rolled over him.

"It's been a long time, Dark Dragon." Ikki's gaze raked over his form appraisingly. "Time that hasn't been good to you."

His lips trembled as he tried to form the words he needed, but nothing came. He backed away another few steps, found himself against the wall. He pressed himself against it, cold sweat covering him.

"You're still afraid of me, little one?" Ikki laughed. "There's nothing to fear, Iryu. My brother and your double have staked their claims on you; you're under their protection."

His eyes darted to Shun, staring up at his brother with a bad case of hero-worship. Shun noticed, stepped between them, and poked his brother in the chest. "You've been seen, big brother. I'll have to tell Hyoga that he didn't react to your spectacular charm."

Ikki laughed, ruffled his brother's hair. "You take care of him, squirt. And don't worry, I won't bother him. I'm hunting Swan."

Shun closed the door behind his brother, turning with a rueful grin. "He and Hyoga are interested in each other, and both determined to make the other make the first move."

"Hyoga?" It took effort to pry himself off the wall.

"Swan, you probably know him as. The blond you've seen me with occasionally?"

Iryu nodded, accepted the support that Shun offered to get back over to the bed.

--------------------------------

Iryu's had it rather bad. I skipped quite a bit of time there, I know, but I needed the poor guy to be a little bit better before anything else happened. I haven't been able to see anymore of the show scowls at mean old father who went down to basic cable which is nothing more than 14 channels most of which should be antenna channels so he's wasting money, and then cancelled it entirely… oops, rant because of technical difficulties, so keeping the knights themselves in character and in voice is a trifle bit hard. Yes, even in AU, I do try to kind of keep in character (minus one or two specific creatures not in this anime).


	7. Scarred

Iryu looked out the window. He knew, now. Knew why his bright double so often avoided him. Knew that all his pain had been for nothing. That his recovery, which had taken so long, was worthless. His fingers curled on the sill, his eyes looking blindly at the cloudless sky. Shun. The beautiful green-haired boy was his bright double's lover. And against that vision of loveliness, he stood no chance at all. His strength had returned. But his voice had been permanently ruined… and his body was so marred he still could not recognize it for his own.

"Penny for your thoughts!" a cheerful voice called.

"They are not worth so much," he answered, turning and forcing himself to smile. "A new outfit?"

Shun grinned, and struck a pose. "Yes, it is. What do you think?"

Iryu regarded him thoughtfully. "You look beautiful."

Shun blushed. "Don't talk nonsense, Iryu! Come on, be serious. How does it look?"

"I would think you vain and fishing for compliments, but you denied mine," Iryu said quietly. "It fits you well, and the colors are good, bringing out your eyes rather than your hair."

"Good." Shun dropped without his customary grace into the nearest chair. "I'm sick of being 'that green-haired pretty boy', you know? I thought maybe having the pants so tight would prove I wasn't a girl!"

"They do that." Iryu turned from him, returning to his contemplation of the sky.

"I should take you shopping with me sometime. You could use some clothes of your own, instead of hand-me-downs from Shiryu. Your coloring is different enough that the colors he wears make you still seem ill. You… aren't, are you?"

"I have healed."

"But you… aren't well, are you?" Shun came to stand just behind him. "Not entirely."

"I have healed, Shun. There is naught wrong with my health."

"You never go outside." Shun slipped his arm around the other's waist, naturally, as he pushed him a bit to the side so he could look out the window as well. "It's a nice day, too. We're having a picnic lunch today, over there by the pond. Are you coming this time?"

Iryu tensed at the arm about his waist, his memories taking him back momentarily to Ranome as Shun moved closer to him. His eyes closed, and he ignored the question as he tried to get himself back under control.

Shun glanced up, then stared in dismay at the look of absolute despair on Iryu's face, dropping his arm quickly at the other suddenly clutched at himself and began shivering. "Iryu? Iryu! What's wrong?" When he got no answer, he pushed and prodded the other knight over to the bed.

Iryu sank onto it, ignoring the tears that slid down his face. His body shook as his memories took him to that terrible place he had never truly escaped from. He shuddered even more as Shun continued to tend to him, finally stripping him of his clothes before tucking him under his covers. A faint moan ripped from him as Shun touched his bare skin.

"Iryu. Gods, I'm not going to hurt you." Shun settled to the bed next to the other. "I'm not, Iryu."

"Tear out… my heart…" Iryu rasped at last.

"What?" Shun drew his hand from Iryu's arm for only a moment, then resumed his gentle petting. "I am not going to tear out your heart. I wouldn't have done that even when we were enemies, and we aren't anymore. I'm your friend, Iryu."

"Tear it out." Iryu grasped Shun's hand suddenly, shoving the blankets down to rest it over his heart. "Make the pain stop."

Shun allowed him hold his hand in place, pressed firmly against Iryu's chest. He could feel the other's heartbeat racing beneath his palm. "Calm down, Iryu. Shhh, honey, it's all right. I promise. It's all right."

"Never…"

Shun gazed down at him, completely at a loss. "Please, Iryu, honey, it's all right. No one will hurt you here. No one. I promise."

"Too late… for promises. Just… finish me." Iryu closed his eyes, preparing himself. "Make the hurting stop."

"Too…" Shun repeated. Beneath his hand, Iryu's heartbeat slowed to a more normal rate. "Where does it hurt, Iryu?"

Iryu's raspy whisper was nearly normal. "The pain encompasses all that I am."

"You don't deserve death, Iryu." Shun reached out, his fingers tracing gently over Iryu's face as he pushed locks of hair from the other's face. "Not for anything that's happened. You didn't deserve being hurt for helping Shiryu or for not killing Seiya and me when you had the chance. Shiryu went back for you, but you were already gone. He waited… a long time, hoping you would come. I know he would have helped you if he'd known about what was happening to you! Seiya and I would have, too. If we'd known, we would have come for you."

"He… wanted me… to come? Waited for me?" Black on blue eyes opened, the uncertain hope in them so strong Shun's heart broke. "He would have come?"

"He wanted you to come to him, and he hoped you would. It was over a year before his hope finally faded. But I know that he would have come for you, if he had known." Shun smiled gently, and rose. "I'll send him to you."

"No."

"Why not?"

"What chance has a foul creature such as I against someone so beautiful as you? Look at me, Shun," the rasp commanded as the blankets were kicked aside. "Look at the scars that mar me. I do not even recognize myself in the mirror, I have been so disfigured. I had… not known I had been so badly injured. The ugliness within is now displayed without. I have no hope to win back his affection. No hope to win his love. I have seen the two of you together. Do you think I do not know he is your lover, as Ranome was mine? Or that your love was given the chance to flourish that mine was not? I will not join your picnic, and I do not wish to see Dragon."

Shun scrutinized him, taking in the multitude of criss-crossing scars. Scars Iryu had received because he had not killed when he was supposed to. Scars, that to him, made him unlovable and ugly. "Iryu…"

He sat on the bed again. Reaching out once more, he placed his hand on Iryu's chest, splaying his fingers over the other's heart. "Iryu… what you did and who you are means more than how you look." Shun traced one of the worst scars. "These scars… mar only your body. They were given to you as a punishment, but you should know that they prove your honor. You got them because you helped save the lives of three people, rather than killing them."

Iryu batted his hand away, pulled the blanket back up. "Honor. Honor means nothing. My mirror only made me aware of what I knew of myself."

"Iryu…" Shun reached for him again, and pulled an unexpectedly unresisting form against his chest. "Iryu… please, honey, don't think like that."

"You have your beauty," Iryu rasped against Shun's neck, "and you have your lover. I scare the children and the servants. My double rarely comes to see me, and I cannot believe it is not because of my disfigurement. I have not even a voice any longer, just this… grating imitation."

"Do you think Shiryu is like that?" Shun cried. "Do you think he is so superficial that all he cares about is how you look?" He pushed the dark knight away so that he could look into his eyes. "Do you think that no one looks past the scars to see you?"

"No one." Iryu met Shun's eyes unwaveringly. "Not even you, pretty Shun."

Shun released him slowly, and rose. He walked to the door. His voice was tight when he spoke. "Shiryu is my lover, and you are scarred, but you have more chance with him than you know." He closed the door, leaning against it for only a moment before bolting to his own room. He threw himself across the bed, and allowed his tears to fall.

Some time later, he went in search of his lover.


	8. Mood Swings

"Shun." Shiryu stroked his lover's hair, trying to calm the other down. Shun had walked into the library, taken one look at him, and burst into tears. "What's happened? Are you hurt?"

"Uh-uh." Shun sniffled, tried to get control of himself, and decided he'd just collapse against Shiryu instead, and cry himself out.

"Iryu? Has he hurt himself again?" Shun locked his arm's around his lover's waist and buried his face in the long hair hanging over Shiryu's shoulder. He shook his head. "He's hurt you, though, hasn't he? Because of me."

Teeny tiny nod. Shun didn't want to admit it. "Oh, Shun… I love you."

"Uh-hu." Shun hiccupped.

"You don't have to worry. I meant what I said back then."

"Not that…" Shun took a deep breath, and spoiled it by hiccupping several times. He leaned against Shiryu. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall apart on you."

"Come, sit down with me." Shiryu led him to one of the couches, and settled them on it. "Tell me what happened."

Shun leaned back against the couch. "I don't know how."

"Shun, love, look at me." When his lover wouldn't comply, Shiryu reached out, cupping Shun's chin and gently forcing him do face him. "What happened? Just tell me."

"I can't, Shiryu. I can't. I don't know how. I don't know what to tell you."

"Tell me how he hurt you."

Shun's tongue darted out to moisten his lips. "Do you only care for me because of how I look?"

Shiryu smiled. "No, Shun. You have a loving, generous nature and a kind heart. You've got the most infectious giggle I've ever heard. You don't rush into fights, and the ones you do get into you try to resolve peacefully. The fact that you're a beauty only adds to your appeal."

Shun nuzzled Shiryu's palm. He took several deep breaths, calming himself a bit more. "And Iryu? You waited so long for him. He's here now, and…"

"Shun, no," Shiryu interrupted. "You are my love, my lover." He brushed back a lock that kept him from seeing Shun's eyes. "Don't you know that I love you?"

"Yes, but…"

"No buts, Shun. No buts. I love you. I will always love you." Shiryu silenced Shun's next protest with a kiss. "Only you."

"But Iryu…"

"Shun! Please. I don't love him. I love you." Shiryu pulled him close, kissed him passionately. "I love you, Shun."

"Hey! Enough with the mush! I need some help over here!" Seiya's call broke them apart.

Shiryu rose. "I have to help Seiya. I don't want you to worry about this anymore, Shun. I'm not going to replace you." He bent and gave Shun a parting kiss, then strode over to assist Seiya.

Shun looked after him, more tears finding their way down his cheeks. After a moment, he started morosely away. _He didn't even notice my new outfit. But I was bawling, so I guess it wasn't the first thing he would have noticed. I don't understand though. He spent a year waiting for Iryu, searching for him, hoping he would come._

And Iryu is right. Shiryu has had barely anything to do with him since he returned. I'm the one who did most of the work of taking care of him. It was almost as if Shiryu couldn't stand to be around him. He can't be right, can he? I thought… I thought he still cared. Still loved him, and was avoiding him for my sake. But that's not what he said. He said he didn't love him, just me. But… Iryu… loves him. So much. Can't Shiryu see that? Is he… is he just ignoring everything except how…?

No! Shiryu isn't like that! He isn't! And neither am I. How could he say that I don't look past the scars? I hardly even notice them anymore, and when I do, I remember everything he went through was because he didn't kill me. Us. He saved us instead.

Shun opened the door before him, stumbled across the room and fell across the bed. He grabbed for a pillow and curled around it, muffling his sobs against it. _What changed? I was so sure. He was so gentle with him those first few weeks. What happened? It was my idea to send him to the hospital, Shiryu's to bring him home. But he didn't bring him back to our room. He had his own room. Why didn't Shiryu want him to stay with us?_

Does he think I'm jealous?! Shun sat up, resting against the headboard, still curled around the pillow. _Is that it? No, no… that can't be. I've never once acted jealous! Except that if that isn't the answer, then Iryu is right._

And that would mean that he…

Shun shook his head furiously. He had to think of a way to convince Iryu to join them for the picnic. He had to prove that he and his friends weren't as shallow as Iryu thought they were. That he wasn't.

"Shun?" The question was somewhat startled.

"Um, hi?" Shun looked down at the pillow he had mangled. Iryu's, of course. His feet had lead him straight back to his lover's darker half. "I… uh…"

"Felt the need to use my pillow for a comforter?" Iryu asked with a hint of condemnation. "Yours too good to be cried into?"

The sudden attack startled him. "I… no… I was… I didn't realize where I was."

"You didn't realize?" Iryu's voice took on a note of sing-song pity. "What a shame. Did you get your feelings hurt?"

Shun's lower lip trembled. "You think no one sees past your scars."

"Oh." A knowing tilt of the head that sent long hair cascading back to reveal the of the wicked scar that marred Iryu's face. "Did I hurt your feelings?"

Shun shook his head. He started to slide from the bed, found himself trapped between it and Iryu. "Oh, do not run away, pretty Shun. Let your tears fall… I will not mind."

Shun looked up at him, at those strange eyes, let his gaze linger on the scar that ravaged Iryu's face. He let his eyes follow the scar from its tip just above Iryu's eye, diagonally across his face to his jaw, following his jaw to the point of his chin, running down his neck to disappear where his robe closed over his chest. "That scar was deliberate, wasn't it? It's the only one that even touches your face, and one of the first things anyone notices."

Iryu tipped his head. "Nearly all my scars were deliberately cut, pretty one. Each time I ran, I received one, each time I fought what they wanted." Iryu tugged the sash of the robe, allowed it to fall. "The more intimate the thing they wanted, the more intimate the cut, you see. But I was never cut so that I could not be used for their enjoyment. None were sliced so deeply or allowed to bleed so long as to kill me.

"On my back, they carved their names, proud of what they had done to me. One would cut, and it would heal, then the next would cut over the scars. Sugase was the last to carve his name, and it runs from my neck to my feet. Did you not notice while you were tending me? I assure you those at the hospital saw my scars. The servants and children see them as well."

"I can see them, but, Iryu, my friends aren't like that. Let me show you. Come with me, to the picnic. Let me show you that we see you, not what was done to you. Please."

"I told you, pretty one. I will not go."

In desperation, Shun reached up, cupping Iryu's face. "Iryu, if what you believe is true, then none of them can see me! You were beautiful, tell me how it is different now? Were you someone then, or just another pretty face?" A hint of bitterness, "Were you just another pretty boy mistaken for a girl?"

"I was never mistaken for anything but what I was - dangerous," Iryu answered. He reached up, taking Shun's wrists. He leaned forward a little, enough to topple the other, and pinned Shun's arms. "No one ever saw anything except the danger and evil that I was."

Shun gazed up at him, hopelessly confused. Iryu hadn't been so mean earlier! What had happened while he was gone? He swallowed, licking lips that had gone dry. "You… you aren't anymore. You aren't evil. I… I don't think you ever were."

"Oh?" Iryu leaned closer. "Why?"

"An… an evil man would have killed me when he had the chance, and tormented Dragon after. You… didn't. You… you let us live, went back to him, and helped him help us." Shun's breathing became a bit faster. He was not at all immune to Iryu's closeness.

"Maybe I was just drawing out the kill, pretty one."

"No."

"You sound so sure." Iryu leaned closer still, his body intimately pressed to Shun. "Why so sure, pretty one?"

"Because I can see it in your eyes, Iryu. I see what your soul tells me. And you haven't answered my question." A hint of defiance, now, in his tone. "What difference is there in being a thing?"

"A thing?" Iryu's lips grazed Shun's. "A thing of ugliness is scorned and discarded, where one of beauty is sought and desired."

Pain in his heart, shining through his eyes. "Shiryu isn't like that. He isn't! He can't be!"

"Can't be?" Iryu whispered in his ear. "Why not, pretty one? Can you deny that he has rarely come to see me? Can you deny that it is you and not my bright, unscarred double who has had the care of me? Can you deny that you are in his bed and not I, even though he waited and wanted me to come?

"Can you tell me that he did not come to my rooms and tell me he thought it best if I left?"

Shun felt his world spin. His lover would not have… could not…. But he could read the anger, the pain and hurt in the dual-toned eyes that stared down at him from a mocking face. "He… wouldn't… say that!"

"No more than five minutes after you left me, Shun." Iryu confirmed, the mockery dying from his face, a moment of hurt showing before being washed by an expression of calm acceptance. "It is no more than I have expected. You should go. He will want you by his side at your picnic."

The abrupt turn caught Shun off-guard. He sat up slowly, still shaking his head in denial, blinking uncertainly at Iryu. Iryu fastened his robe and walked to the window. "Go, Shun."

"He wouldn't have said that. He said," Shun's voice grew stronger, more confident, "he said he felt you needed protection. That we would provide it for you. He wouldn't just tell you to go after that!"

"I have no need for protection any longer. My wounds have healed, my memories returned. I no longer need to be cared for, and I know who it was who harmed me, and will avoid them in the future. It was they from whom I needed protection, and they from whom I can now protect myself."

"You're lying."

"I have no need to lie, Shun. Go to your lover," Iryu said wearily.

"You aren't healed, Iryu." Shun rose, crossing to stand behind the other. He slipped his arms around the other, embracing him. "Your body is healed, but you still hold all the terror of what you went through. Can you tell me that you don't? You're trembling now, and you fell apart just a few hours ago when I touched you. Shiryu was wrong, you still need us."

Shun laid his head against Iryu's back, continuing to hold him. "It wasn't just your body they hurt, honey. They hurt your mind and your soul, too. Stay, and let those wounds heal. Don't leave me before you're truly healed."

"It was not a suggestion that I leave, Shun." Iryu allowed himself to relax, take the comfort Shun offered. "He came to tell me that it was best that I left, and that the arrangements have been made. I am not to spend another night beneath this roof. My things have already been packed, a servant shall come for me in another half-hour."

"Weren't you going to tell me good-bye?" Shun whispered.

"No, Shun. I was not to be allowed. There has been a guard at the door. He has not let me leave my rooms. I suppose they thought I would try to steal the silverware, or some such nonsense."

"He never even noticed my outfit." Shun cursed himself. A stupid, inane remark.

Iryu turned, his arms sliding around Shun. "Shhh, pretty. He will notice it tonight when he peels it from your body."

"He won't notice then either. Never notices what I wear. I was going to take you shopping. No, I am going to take you shopping. We'll both go when you leave, and we'll shop first."

"There is no need, Shun. And besides, you would miss the picnic."

"I wanted you to come to the picnic. I wanted to prove something… and instead…" Shun's eyes filled with tears again. He pressed his face to Iryu's chest, his voice dropping to less than a whisper. "Instead, you tell me something that proves what you said. I'm… I'm an ornament, aren't I, Iryu? Nothing but something pretty to keep around for his use?" A soft sob. "Everything he's told me has been a lie, hasn't it?"

"No, I doubt that. You are one who is beautiful inside and out. I believe he came to realize that when he saw the ugliness of my inner self reflected on the outside - and knew he had waited for one unworthy of love."

"You are not!" Shun declared furiously, raising tear-drenched lashes, sparkling eyes meeting Iryu's. "You are not ugly and you are not unworthy of love!"

"I am."

"You are not! You've got some scars, that's all!" Shun pulled back, yanked Iryu's robe open. "That's all! Scars! Except for the one on your face, and Sugase's signature on your back, none of them are even very big! There's a lot of them, is all. A lot of little," Shun reached out, tracing, "bitty, teeny scars everywhere, and two big ones! They don't make you ugly and they don't make you unlovable!"

"Then name one person who finds me loveable! Ranome turned his back on me, and your Shiryu as well. No one loves me!"

"I do!" Shun cried, then froze, his fingers still over the scar that crossed Iryu's heart. Quietly, he repeated, "I do. I love you."

--------------------------------------

Heh. MOOD SWINGS! Hell of a day for those two, ne?


	9. Goodbye

"I love you." Shun whispered again, almost to low to be heard. "Please…"

"I cannot stay, pretty one."

"You can't leave, Iryu. The nightmares…"

"No, Shun," Iryu interrupted him. "No. I must go. I have no choice in this. They will be here for me soon. I must be ready."

"Take me." Shun leaned against Iryu once more. "Take me."

"I cannot take you, Shun. You belong here. I do not."

"That's… that's not… what I meant." Shun took a half-step backwards. "Take me… for yourself."

Iryu stood stunned, then closed the difference between them. He kissed Shun, tasting the same desperation he felt. His fingers moved swiftly over the tiny buttons on Shun's shirt, pushing it over his shoulders and down his arms to pool on the floor at their feet. The tight leather pants were slightly more of a problem, but gave way. Shun was barefoot already, and had worn nothing under the tight pants.

Iryu kissed him again, guiding the green-haired man to the bed and tumbling him onto it. There was nothing of grace between them, just an overwhelming desperation, an urgency that had to be met. Shun wrapped his legs around Iryu's waist as he thrust, both freezing momentarily before Iryu began moving once more.

Fast, sloppy, hurried. Iryu kept his mouth fastened to Shun's, one hand around the other's cock, one hand bracing himself. Shun's hands fisted in his hair, hips rising to meet his thrusts, gasping for air when Iryu broke the kiss. A momentary frenzy, a shuddering cry. Shun's body convulsing around him as he thrust the last time.

They lay together for only a moment before Iryu pulled away. He walked into the bathroom, coming out a few minutes later cleaned and dressed. Shun had struggled back into his pants and was fastening his shirt. Iryu batted his hands from the buttons and did them up himself, then gave the young knight a lingering kiss broken by a sharp knock at the door.

Shiryu's voice. "Iryu. Time to go."

Shun blanched, clinging momentarily to Iryu's shoulders. Iryu held him, brushed a tear from the white face. "It is no more than I truly expected Shun. Your gift… I will not forget." He guided the shaken man to the chair out of the line-of-sight of the door, then grabbed the waiting bag. He opened the door. "I am ready, Shiryu."

"Good. Manx will take you to your new home. This card is for your bank account, the information you'll need is in here."

"Tell me one thing before I go."

"What?"

"What do you plan to tell Shun of my leaving? He has been caring for me, I doubt not that he will notice I have gone."

A gentle laugh. "Iryu, your wounds have healed, you've been given a new home and money enough to cover expenses until you can find a way to earn your own. Princess Sienna has been very generous to you, _Black Dragon_."

"Will you tell him that you told me it best I left?" Iryu asked softly. "Will you tell me why I need to leave?"

"Shun does not need to know. Now, come on. You've been here too long already."

The door shut. Shun huddled into the chair, silent tears pouring down his cheeks. Iryu _had_ been right. Shiryu had told Iryu to get out, and had arranged it with the princess. Shiryu didn't plan on telling him that he had suggested Iryu leave, had arranged it! Why? He moved stiffly from the chair to the door, looking down the hall. The others were gone.

He walked to the rooms he shared with Shiryu. Looked around. "Shiryu?" Shun called, barely loud enough to hear himself. He forced himself further into that first room, looking around as if seeing the room for the first time. Elegant. Clean. Not just tidy, but clean. No dust anywhere, nothing even slightly out of place. Nothing of himself in it.

The next room was fairly similar, only not so squeaky perfect. The book he'd been reading was pages-down over the arm of the chair he'd been curled in. The book was the only thing out of position. The bathroom was spotless, the few things he'd left out this morning tucked away into the cabinets where they belonged.

Shun was panting when he pushed open the door to the bedroom. He stared at the carpet below his feet for a long time before allowing his gaze to slowly creep around the room. The scent of jasmine tickled his nose, but that he expected. The room always smelled like the jasmine incense Shiryu preferred. The bed, which he had left a mess of tangled blankets, was perfectly made, with fresh sheets.

His clothes had hung a little out of the hamper, but none showed now, and the drawer he hadn't quite shut because the clothes inside poked out was shut now. He crossed, opened the drawer. The clothes had been refolded. He shut it, allowing his eyes to drift without really noticing anything specifically.

Shun pushed open the connecting door to the room they'd had Iryu in so long. The room that technically was his. Looked from it to the room he shared with Shiryu, and back. Went back into the shared room, and carefully divested it of his clothes. Took them back to his own room. Put them away, without being overly persnickety about it. Hung the pictures that had been in the bottom drawer before he'd put his clothes back in it, and wondered how come he hadn't noticed they weren't on the walls anymore. Put his assortment of mismatched, ill-shaped and somewhat battered treasures back into their proper positions when he found them boxed in the bottom of the closet. Crawled back up on his bed and surveyed the room.

A year and a half. He'd been Shiryu's lover a year and a half. Had he lost himself so completely? Been so blindly dependent and loving that he hadn't seen anything except what he wanted to see?_ No! No. Shiryu isn't like that! He isn't! There… there must be a reason. A good one. There has to be. Has to be._

He barely noticed when the door opened, but buried his face in his brother's chest when he threw an arm around him.

"What's the matter?"

"Iryu's gone."

"Oh, has he left then? I was beginning to wonder if he was just going to leave his house empty."

"His… house?"

"Sienna bought a house for him. Set him up with a staff and a bank account and everything."

"Staff?"

"Yes, little brother. A staff to take your place." Ikki ruffled his hair. "We haven't seen much of you lately; you're always running errands for Iryu because he wouldn't leave his rooms."

_Hadn't seen… but I…_ He looked up into his brother's worried face. "What do you mean by that? I made all the practices and all the picnics and helped Seiya with those stupid books he's working on and…"

"And I know. But you've been distant the entire time, and talked of nothing except Iryu! I think you made Shiryu jealous."

"Shiryu? Jealous? Why?"

"You spent more time with his double than with him."

"I did not!" Incensed, Shun pulled back.

"Didn't you?"

Shun shook his head, denying he had. He knew he hadn't! "I know I didn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ikki. I'm sure. I spent more time with him before, when he was healing, than after he didn't need the bandages changed so often. At most, I might have been in to visit him for an hour or so, total, after that. And sometimes when he had a nightmare, I'd stay until he calmed down. But no longer than that!"

"When were you visiting him, then, for that hour or so?"

"After meals, usually," Shun answered. "But what difference does that make? I've always used the time after meals for visiting or letters or whatever. How many times did I bother you after lunch when I was trying to get ideas on how to get Shiryu to notice me?"

A smile. "True. Perhaps Shiryu thought you would spend that time with him?"

"No." Shun turned in his brother's loose embrace. "That was time for his sister, and when he did his meditation. I learned not to intrude on those times before we ever got together." And had the lesson quite thoroughly reinforced after. He scrubbed at his face, wiping away the tears he had no reason to shed. "He would not have thought I'd spend that time with him."

Apparently, that was a signal of sorts for his brother, who stood, looking around thoughtfully. "I thought you'd thrown all this old junk out?"

"I've been in here so rarely that I didn't even realize it was gone until I was putting some of my clothes away, and found the pictures stuffed in the bottom drawer. The rest was in a box in the closet."

"Maybe Shiryu put them away because this was a guest room?"

"Is Hyoga's room a guest room?" He knew his brother and the blond were a happy item now.

"Of course not. We fight so often he still uses it. Besides, he has too much stuff for it to all fit in my room."

"I had nothing in Shiryu's room except a drawer of clothes. All of my things were in here. I wonder how Seiya feels about being odd knight out?"

"What?"

"He's the only knight not having sex."

"He's banging the princess, and that girl from the orphanage. I doubt he feels left out. What brought that on?"

"Nothing. I'm gonna take a nap."

"Picnic."

"Oh, is it time already?" Shun dragged himself from the bed to look critically into his mirror. One hand reached absently for a brush, ordered the green locks. He regarded himself for a moment, then tied his hair back. Another examination lead to him undoing the first few buttons of his shirt. "There, that's better."

"My brother, the slut," Ikki said with a sigh. "Come on."


	10. Lonely apart

He usually wore his hair down, so that if he bent his head forward, it would swing into a position that hid his expression. But the shirt was more of a color to bring out his eyes, and less his hair, and he wanted to see if anyone, besides Iryu, would notice. He tagged along behind his brother, silently following him to the picnic he no longer had an appetite for.

Hyoga's eyes lit up at the sight of his lover, then widened when he caught a glimpse of Shun. "Wow. You look good enough to eat! Are you on the menu today?"

"Of course not!" Shun laughed, and settled next to Shiryu while his brother gave Hyoga a lesson on where to keep his eyes. He'd already decided he wasn't going to mention that Iryu was gone, he would let that come up. If Ikki had known of the house, surely the others did?

"Glad to see you could join us. You got any room to wiggle in those pants?" Seiya asked.

"Of course." For the hell of it, and to see if he could get any reaction out of Shiryu, Shun proceeded to demonstrate his 'wiggle room' with an impromptu bump and grind. He smiled around the group when he finished.

"Damn, he's gonna give me a nosebleed! Hey, lover, can we…" Hyoga's voice dropped as he whispered something in Ikki's ear that made that knight clout him, then pin him to the ground and kiss him fiercely.

"I thought this was going to be a picnic, not a sex show," Shiryu said quietly. Ikki sat up, pulling Hyoga into his lap and very blatantly stroking the blond knight.

"It is a picnic," he growled, "but I don't recall you being such a prude last time. Strawberries and whipped cream, if I remember correctly?"

A slight flush signified the hit, but Shiryu only patted the ground next to him. Shun dropped rather dispiritedly into the space, grabbing a couple carrot sticks to nibble on, pointedly ignoring the prominently displayed bowl of strawberries a smirking Seiya had offered to him. He'd gotten a rise, literally, out of all of them except Shiryu.

The carrot sticks stuck in his throat. He didn't try to eat anything else, and didn't touch the bottles of wine that the others were making disappear. He needed no extra incentives to be maudlin, he already felt bad enough. He sat quietly through the entire thing, wishing for escape, for Shiryu to say something - anything! - to him, for the ground to open up and swallow him.

Shiryu said nothing at all to him, merely aiming a few increasingly ribald remarks at the inebriated couple across from them, and chatting pleasantly with Seiya. Shun tried talking to him, but Shiryu silenced him with a light kiss, then turned back to Seiya. _What is going on? Am I here, or not? He's never… ignored me before. I don't understand!_

Shun bent forward, tugged the tie on his hair. It spilled free, spilling over his shoulders and drifted over his face when he shook it forward. Hyoga made the only protest, one that Ikki promptly ended. Shun rose. "I think I'll walk a bit."

No one objected. He walked back up to the big house, started up the stairs for his room. Realized he didn't want to go there, and sat down on the steps. He was still sitting there when Shiryu entered with Seiya.

"…the best."

"Yes, but I still think you should tell him." Their voices carried easily to Shun. "He's bound to think it was something he did wrong, you know how he is."

Shiryu sounded surprised. "Shun did nothing wrong! Why would he think that Dark Dragon leaving had anything to do with him?"

"Are you blind or something?" Seiya demanded. "Shun's been his lapdog since he came here. Running errands for him so he wouldn't have to leave his room. He might believe you were jealous!"

"Me? Of Iryu? No. But I am not going to have to explain why…" Shun missed the last of the comment as the two entered the kitchen, the door swinging shut to cut off their words. He huddled against the stairs, then scrambled up them to fling himself across his bed.

Tears soaked into the pillow. Seiya and Ikki had similar thoughts about Shiryu being jealous of the time Shun spent with Iryu, but just as obviously, Shiryu hadn't had such a problem. Shun couldn't forget the dismissive, annoyed tone Shiryu had used in his response.

And he was sure he hadn't really spent all that much time with the dark knight, but again, both Seiya and Ikki had pointed out how much time he spent running errands for Iryu. _"We haven't seen much of you lately…" "…been his lapdog…"_ Shun sat up, clutching the pillow to himself as he tried to figure out if they were right. He was counting on his fingers when he became aware someone else was in the room. "Shiryu?"

"Shun." The other approached his bed, settled on it, but did not offer to touch him. They stared at each other a long moment, Shun drinking in the other's perfection. Almost hesitantly, he reached out.

Shiryu caught his hand, dipped his head to brush a kiss over his knuckles. "Shun, tell me what is wrong."

"I don't know," Shun answered before he thought. "I… I don't know."

"Are your tears for Iryu?" Now Shiryu brushed his thumb lightly over Shun's cheek, capturing an escaping tear.

"For me." Shun drew a shuddering breath. "Were you going to tell me?" he asked dully. "Were you ever planning to tell me?"

"I knew you would find out he'd left without me needing to tell you."

Shun drew back. "Why did he leave?"

The hope flickering in his eyes died when Shiryu answered. "Sienna provided him with a house, and enough money to get by until he was able to find a way to support himself. He chose to move to it."

_He's lying to me._ Fresh pain welled in his soul, became the crystal drops that rolled down his cheeks. _He's lying. I was there. Iryu asked him… and he I didn't need to know, but I never thought he'd _lie_ to me about it!_ His thoughts remained unspoken. Shiryu was kissing him, kissing away the tears, kissing his eyes, his mouth. Shun let him, let him unfasten all the small buttons on his shirt and pull it off, helped him remove the tight pants.

_He lied to me. Why am I letting him do this?_ He sighed a little when Shiryu stroked revealed skin, spreading his legs more at the older knight's insistence. Lifted his hips wantonly, letting his own hands freely roam his lover's form. _He lied._ Penetration, and a kiss that tried to steal his wounded soul.

He responded to both out of habit rather than pleasure, his body moving almost of its own violation. His eyes shimmered with the tears that continued to spill from his eyes, his mind unable to concentrate on the pleasure he knew his lover was providing. All he knew was that his lover had lied. Lied, and taken him.

He felt used when Shiryu finished. Finished and grabbed his clothes up off the floor, dropping a kiss on Shun's forehead before leaving, saying that he had to get cleaned up before he went to help in the library. Shun laid on his bed, legs still spread. He could feel the wetness pooling around his rump, and the ache of need.

_I wonder if this is how he felt, when Ranome betrayed him. Like it didn't really matter what happened next, because no matter what it was, his heart and soul hurt too much to care what happened to the rest of him. If he took the sex because he hoped it would make up for the pain… only to realize that it made him feel used…_

He ignored the need, forcing himself to his feet. He stripped the blankets from the bed, stuffing them haphazardly into the hamper. The new clothes, he dumped in the trash can. He already knew he wouldn't be welcome in the shower, he'd learned within a few days that Shiryu didn't care for water play and wanted absolute privacy in the bathroom.

Instead, he reached for the small box that had been in with his clothes, and wiped the worst of the mess from his skin before grabbing a light robe from the closet and hurrying from their rooms. He went straight to Iryu's, knowing there would be no one in it, and used the shower there. It wasn't the first time he'd done that, just the first time Iryu hadn't been in the bedroom right outside.

He used cold water, as usual unwilling to relieve himself, this time scrubbing until his skin was nearly raw. Shun shivered when he stepped from the shower and pulled the robe back over his body. He didn't make it to the door, collapsing in the middle of the room. His reflection seemed to mock him, portraying him as he saw himself - a shuddering, sodden mess sprawled unwanted on the floor.

__

"Come on. This way. I'll help you escape." He felt himself lifted, his feet shuffling on the floor. "That's right. Take a step. And another. Hurry. I don't want them to know I'm here…"

The person supporting him was his height, and strong. He was being urged down the hall, half-dragged, half-walking. He couldn't see where they were going, couldn't see who held him. The lights were out. "Know… you?" he whispered, certain that the voice was familiar.

"Yes, you know me," the voice told him . "You knew me very well, once. Come. Come. There, we're outside. This way, quickly. Come on now."

"Who?" He wasn't able to say more, suddenly seized by a fit of coughing that tore at his damaged throat. His face was pressed into a strong shoulder, his weak body supported by the other until the paroxysm had passed. Then he was urged onward, his question apparently forgotten in the urgent need to get away.

He was soon bundled into a car. He leaned back against the seat, listing to the side. That same strong body supported him, seemed to be doing something with his hurts. He didn't really know what, didn't really care. "Ranome…?"

"Easy, easy. Ranome's dead. I saw, when I took you out of there. It took me too long to find you. You've been damaged."

Damaged didn't describe how he felt. Ruined, perhaps. But this wasn't Ranome. He turned his head, just a little, looking into eyes similar to his own. Stared at his reflection in the mirror, and wondered who had finally removed Ranome's body from his own. Blinked, and wondered when Ranome would come to tell him everything would be fine. To tell him that he had been punished enough, and would be released. Sugase had promised to release him.

A touch, on the fresh, still raw scar Ranome had carved into his body. He hissed, but the touch worked at the wound, making it worse. He screamed.

Screaming, he catapulted from his bed to land in the corner, hands out to ward off the specter of his dream. He trembled and shook, eyes darting frantically around the unfamiliar room, looking for the one he knew was still out there. Somewhere close. His chest heaved as he fought to draw breath, one hand touching his aching throat. The other stayed out defensively.

He stayed in the corner until the sun lit the room enough for him to see around it, to recognize where he was. Iryu rose slowly, eyes sweeping the room. "My room. In my house," he murmured, then winced as his throat protested being used.

He crossed to the nightstand, taking up the cup of cool water that rested there, and drank carefully. He didn't bother with going back to bed, after one of his nightmares, he was never able to sleep. His troubled gaze went to the window, and he moved to it, looking across the city in the direction of the mansion he'd been staying in.

Shun had been right. Physically, he had healed. Psychologically, he was still a prisoner. But then, he'd never told Shun the whole story. Never told him how he'd managed to escape, or what had happened after that. Never told him of the desperate bid for freedom that had brought him to the mansion's gates, and nearly cost him his life. All he had said was that he'd had help getting away, and then had gone to Shiryu for help.

Iryu turned from the window, clumsily swallowing more of the water. Help… he'd received help. But it had not been his double who had helped him. Except for that first bath, and when Shun had been present, Shiryu hadn't done anything. He'd arranged things, but he had done nothing. Shun had taken care of him, seeing that he was fed, changed, bandaged. Shun had been the one who had slowly talked him through the events that had led to his disfigurement. Shun who had come when he had screamed, and Shun who had been there to comfort him after his nightmares.

Shiryu had seen to it that he had a place to sleep, and a doctor to see to his injuries. Shiryu had seen to it that a home and money was provided for him. And Shiryu had seen to it that he was removed from the mansion… but Iryu still didn't know why. Shiryu had refused to tell him why he needed to leave, why he'd been there too long. Had refused to tell him why he had avoided him so much, and why he no longer cared for him.

But Iryu was fairly certain he knew. Shun. It had only been yesterday that he'd stood before his mirror, truly looking at his ruined body. He'd lost the beauty that had attracted Shiryu in the first place, had his voice reduced to a grating rasp of sound. He'd covered up the scars, allowing his hair to hide the ragged scar that marred his face. And for the first time, he'd stepped from his room, determined to confront Shiryu.

He'd made it to the stairs, and followed the sound of voices to the kitchen. Had seen Shiryu pull Shun to him and kiss the young knight until he'd had to cling to Shiryu to remain standing. Had clung to the doorframe, realizing at last that he stood no chance with his bright double, and understood why. He'd gone back to his room immediately, and gone straight to the window.

He'd watched Shun leave, watched the other knights have their practice. Seen the kiss Shiryu had given the beautiful one before helping him take his packages into the house. He'd stayed in front of the window, trying to understand. Shun had come after lunch, the way he always did. In the new clothes that displayed his body to perfection, and enhanced his beautiful eyes.

Iryu's fingers clenched on the cup. He'd been so foolish! He'd told Shun so many of his secrets, that he hadn't been able to hold back telling his fear that Shiryu had chosen Shun over him because of his disfigurement. His fear had lead to the young knight being hurt, and he'd never meant that. He'd actually left his room, planning to apologize, but hadn't known where to go, and Shun had no longer been in sight.

He'd gone back to his room, and thrown himself into the chair Shun was so fond of. Shiryu had entered only moments later, without knocking. Had told him that he'd made arrangements for him to leave, and that he thought it best if he left in three hours. Had told him that would give him time enough to pack whatever he wanted to keep. Had told him that there would be a man in front of his room, so that he didn't go wandering off before the car came.

The absolute rejection had shocked him. He'd asked why, of course. Had asked and asked, and only gotten his door shut in his face. He'd opened it, and been dismayed to find that a guard really was in place outside his door, a guard who wouldn't let him follow Shiryu. He'd gone back into his room, and stared around it. Found the bag that Shun had bought for him on one of his shopping trips, and began going through Shiryu's castoff clothing. When Shun had come… he'd hurt the young knight even more, and Shun had still said he loved him. Had offered him the only thing he had to prove it. And he, like the fool he was, had taken it. Taken that precious gift, and perhaps wounded the beautiful knight in a way he would never understand

Iryu looked now at the small, insignificant case. It held nothing except a few toiletries, all purchased for him by Shun. He'd brought nothing else, except the memory of Shun's final gift, and the tragic betrayal on his face when he'd heard his lover's answer to Iryu's questions. Shun was the reason Shiryu no longer cared for him. And the reason he'd been avoided was…. His hand brushed over the scar on his face. That was obvious.

-------------------------------------------------------------

You know, for some reason, I only remember Black Dragon and Dragon fighting in the show. I don't remember Black Dragon having a twin brother. Except, I happened to be job hunting the other day, and saw one of the manga books, and grabbed it for a looksee. Guess which one? That's right. The lovely dark knights - more specifically, the battle between the dragons. And Black Dragon had a twin fighting with him - Shadow Dragon. I now have these huge question marks dancing over my head points up as proof, and am wondering if any of you devoted followers of KotZ aka Saint Seiya have any memory of there being a twin in the show?


End file.
